Imperial Communique 001044.92v
To: His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Palpatine From: Governor Tarkin, Seswenna Sector; Eriadu Regarding: Increasing the Security of the Empire Your Majesty: It has recently come to my attention that what had previously been the quiet grumbling of malcontents on backwater worlds has be- come dissidence in more civilized systems. Your Majesty will forgive me if I am repeating found less rumors, but I have heard there is even armed defiance is soine sectors. Coupled with increased resistance to your plans from hot-headed young senators, this has given me pause to think about oursecurity arrangements. I myself have been frustrated chasing pirate bands in my sector, only to have them leap deep into anothersectorwhere my forces cannot follow without running into conmct with another molf and the advisor who supports him. If the scattered armed resistance should becomeorganized, theywill doubtless learn from the example of other criminal brethren. Granting any rebels the advantage of elusiveness is foolhardy. I have also noticed that even the excellent pace with which Your Majesty is strengthen- ing his fleets can scarcely provide security for the Empire should a significant number of planets begin to defy your will. We are many years away from a force vast enough to secure every system simultaneously. Itherefore wish that you would consider my recommendations on the following points: • To provide a swift, systematic response to rebellion as it appears, rather than waiting until it is entrenched, I suggest the formation of Oversectors - sectors consisting of sys- tems in which rebellion is newly born, or systems which maintain frequent contactwith systems in chronic unrest. These Oversectors would be formed without regard for the boundaries of standard sectors. The forces of an Oversector would be able to respond to threats quickly, while the threats are small. Liquidating a dozen small threats is easier than rooting out one well established center of defiance. As an Oversector is created only from problem worlds, they should be given a greater quantity of forces than an ordinary sector. Iwould think that three Sector Groups should be the average. • Give the command of an Oversector to a single individual who reports directly to you. This will bypass any delays created by politi- cal opportunism in your advisors. • Cannibalize existing HoloNet tranceivers, modify them for use and put them in the flagship of every Sector Group in an Oversec- tor command. Place similar facilities within His Majesty's command ship and within Impe- rial City. This will enable your forces to re- spond to threats in minutes rather than hours or days after the fact. Imperial forces will be able to coordinate to a degree impossible among an enemy whose fastest means of communication is a rendezvous at a common system. • Rule through the fear of force rather than force itself. If we use our strength wisely, we shall cow thousands of worlds which might otherwise consider rebellion to some degree. We can do this through superior coordination and manipulation ofinformation. For example, Oversector groups could coordinate to make a series of devastating attacks upon known planets of resistance, taking care to eliminate any fleeing vessels capable of making hyper- space. The operation would take several days in order to jump to all suspect planets in the area of operation. After the operation, we could report to the media that a single Oversector group con- ducted a single day operation (without speci- fying the day) which was successful, eliminat- ing resistance on each of the worlds included in the operation. Granting the citizens the impression of an overwhelming force, one against which resistancewould be futile, would certainly reduce the chance of a citizen foster- ing such resistance. • Your Majesty, it has long been my contention that the average citizen has no grasp of num- bers nor a head for calculation. Imaintain that one of the reasons for the effectiveness of the Star Destroyer isitssize. When citizens look at a Star Destroyer and then look at the craft which might be made available to attack it, even the best mind among them wishes to reject the notion rather than approach the problem tactically. I think this effect could be exploited to a far greater degree. The average citizen deals in symbols, not rational analysis. If we present the citizen with a weapon so powerful, so immense as to defy all conceivable attack against it, a weapon invulnerable and invin- cible in battle, that shall become the symbol for the Empire. We may need only a handful, perhaps only one of these weapons to subju- gate thousands of thousands of worlds each containing millions upon millions of beings. This singfe weapon must have force great enough to dispatch an entire system, and the fear itshall inspire will be great enough for you to rule the galaxy unchallenged. What do you need with the senatorial council when you can give direct control of territories to the re- gional governors? Sweep away the last remnants ofthe Old Republic and let fear keep the local systems in line - fear of our ultimate weapon.